… from
one of my favourite books. I would never describe myself as a baker
but every now and again a recipe catches my eye. The following comes
from The Book of Jewish Food by Claudia Roden. If
you enjoy a book that gives you history as well as recipes then this
is one for you. It's a vast tome, in excess of 500 pages!
Page
514 talks about oranges and page 515 gives you :
Gateau
a l'Orange
(Orange
Cake)
Serves
12
2
oranges
6
large eggs
250g
sugar
2
tbsp orange blossom water
1
tsp baking powder
250g
ground almonds
Wash
the oranges and boil them whole for 1 – 1½ hours or until they are
very soft.
Beat
the eggs with the sugar. Add the orange blossom water, baking powder
and almonds and mix well. *Cut open the oranges, remove the pips and
purée in a food processor. Mix thoroughly with the egg and almond
mixture and pour into a 23cm cake tin – lined with baking
parchment, preferably non-stick and with a removable base. Bake in a
pre-heated oven 170fan/190c/Gas 5 for an hour. Let it cool before
turning out.
Believe me when I say that I stared at this recipe for years.
What put me off baking this cake was the boiling of the oranges for
the time allotted, an hour and a half is too long for me watching
oranges and it's so easy to become distracted - before you know it
you have a burnt saucepan and the rest, as they say, is history.
To bring it up to date … read on.
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